Heartbreaking festive wishes for "clean clothes" or simply "anything" for Christmas led bar staff at a Northumberland pub to break down in tears as its Christmas present scheme for those in need revealed the scale of the cost-of-living crisis.
The Percy Arms in Chatton, near Wooler, is part of the Christmas for All community organisation. Youngsters are invited to share their Christmas wishes, which staff then write on tags that are placed on the pub's Christmas tree. Punters at the pub are then invited to choose a gift tag and make it come true.
But amid the financial strain many are facing, lots of the children and young people who have left their wishes have made devastating requests. Staff were stunned by some of the things they read. One 15-year-old girl wrote: "A present for my dad. He’s sad since my mum died and not in a good place."
